Written Answers Tuesday 13 February 2007

Scottish Executive

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19640 by Peter Peacock on 28 October 2005, whether the details were provided by the relevant organisations to allow a single point of contact for each organisation to be published on the Executive’s website; when the details were placed on the website; what the current status is of the point of contact, and how many people have used the service.

Hugh Henry: The Executive’s website provides information to help individuals who lived in a List D school or children’s home to access their personal records, including contact details of relevant organisations. This has been on the website since early 2006. The information is being updated as part of the Executive’s development of the website survivorscotland.org.uk, which will be launched later this year. Information on the number of people who access individual pages of the Executive website is not collected.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-15682 and S2W-19637 by Peter Peacock on 26 April and 28 October 2005 respectively, whether the helpline is still operated over the same hours; how it continues to be advertised, and how many people have contacted the helpline since it was set up.

Hugh Henry: This helpline was established to provide information to help abuse survivors who were former residents of List D schools or children’s homes to access files held by the Scottish Executive on residential establishments. It was run by Who Cares? Scotland between February and August 2005, when it was closed because only three people had used it.

Climate Change

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in conjunction with local authorities to tackle climate change.

Ross Finnie: As part of Changing Our Ways: Scotland’s Climate Change Programme , the Executive supported a partnership process leading to the announcement last month of Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration. This is a common declaration of intent on climate change which all Scotland’s local authorities have committed to sign.

  We are committed to supporting an on-going process to develop a co-ordinated and improved programme of support on climate change for Scottish local authorities, and have provided resources to assist the Sustainable Scotland Network develop a climate change programme for local government in Scotland for publication later this year.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have (a) returned to the NHS and (b) taken on additional NHS patients as a result of the incentives introduced for these purposes, broken down by parliamentary constituency and NHS board and, in each case, also shown as a percentage of all dentists.

Lewis Macdonald: Information is not collected on the specific reasons why dentists return to the NHS or take on additional NHS patients.

  Since the introduction of allowances paid only to NHS committed practices the number (headcount) of non-salaried principals providing NHS general dental services in Scotland has risen from 1,933 at 30 September 2005 to 2,025 at 30 September 2006.

Finance

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial cost of construction, (b) buy-out cost and (c) total cost to the public purse was for (i) the Skye Bridge, (ii) Inverness Airport and (iii) West Lothian College.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information required is set out as follows.

  (i) Skye Bridge

  (a) The total construction cost of the Skye Bridge project was £39 million, of which some £15 million was publicly funded. These figures are expressed at 1991 prices.

  (b) The final cost to end the tolls on Skye Bridge was £26.75 million, at 2005 prices.

  (c) Total costs to the public purse are not held centrally. However, in addition to the above, the following costs were incurred by central government:

  - compensation payments, totalling £7,564,517 in cash terms, in respect of the costs of increased frequent user discounts from 1998, the freeze on toll levels from 2000 and the imposition of VAT on tolls from February 2003.

  - payments to external advisers in relation to the ending of the tolling regime, totalling £314,418 in cash terms.

  (ii) Inverness Airport

  (a) The total construction cost of the Inverness Airport terminal was £9 million at 1998 prices or £11 million at 2006 prices.

  (b) The cost of the buy out was £27.6 million at 2006 prices.

  (c) Total costs to the public purse are not held centrally.

  (iii) West Lothian College

  Further education colleges are independently constituted institutions and neither the Scottish Executive nor its predecessor, the Scottish Office, is a party to the West Lothian College PFI contract. Ministers are aware, however, that the Final Business Case prepared by the College indicated a construction cost of £14,076,000 (exclusive of fees and at 1997 prices).

  The West Lothian College PFI contract is currently operational so no buy-out cost is known. In December 2006, ministers authorised the Scottish Funding Council to review the contract with a view to the possibility of introducing alternative arrangements should these be shown to provide better value for money. The total cost to the public purse will be known once any associated negotiations have been concluded.

  The Scottish Executive has committed internal resources by way of policy and technical advice on all of these projects, however, detailed costs are not recorded separately.

First Minister

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what modes of transport were used by the First Minister for his visit to Inverness and the surrounding area on 12 and 13 January 2007.

Mr Tom McCabe: The First Minister used the Government Car Service for his journeys to, from and within Inverness and the surrounding area on the 11 and 12 January.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which PFI health projects have been cancelled in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: No signed PFI health projects have been cancelled. The decision to use PFI is only taken following a full value for money study using accepted economic principles and a competitive procurement process.

  The application of value for money guidance has however resulted in a change in the proposed procurement routes for a number of projects. The following projects were being considered for PFI funding but as a result of on-going value for money appraisal have been/are being pursued through public funding:Hawick Community HospitalRefurbishment of the Victoria Hospital in KirkcaldyRedevelopment of the State Hospital.This demonstrates that it is value for money which determines the procurement route and that this is kept under review throughout the business case approval process.

International Relations

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Burns suppers it hosted abroad in January 2007; where they were located; who organised them; whether Scottish firms or organisations were invited to attend, and what similar information it has on Burns suppers organised by the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (UKRep) or any other UK Government department.

Mr Tom McCabe: The First Secretary, Scottish Affairs office in Washington organised and hosted a Burns Supper in New York to promote Tartan Week and Scotland generally to key media contacts.

  VisitScotland and Scottish Development International hosted a Burns Supper in Boston, to launch the direct globespan flight between that city and Scotland. Local media, representatives of the travel industry and local Scottish organisations were invited.The Scottish Executive European Union Office in Brussels held a concert to celebrate Burns Night as part of the Scottish musicians’ series 2006-07, in Scotland House.The Scottish Executive does not record information about events hosted by UK government departments.

NHS 24

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31083 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 January 2007, whether it will provide the statistics for each year since NHS 24’s inception using the formula that applied before 2005.

Mr Andy Kerr: The formula which was applied before 2005 was based on all calls dialled into the service, which included such things as mis-dialled numbers. These were described as "calls offered". From April 2005, a new formula was introduced which calculates call abandonment figures based on call demand. This is the number of calls in the system at the end of the welcome message and therefore gives a more accurate representation of the number of callers who meant to call NHS 24 and who then hang up.

  The abandonment rates, using the old formula of calls offered, are listed in the following table, up to the last available reporting date of 30 November 2006.

  

 
Calls Offered
Number Abandoned
Percentage Abandoned


8 May 2002 to 31 March 2003
280,306
1,052
0.38%


1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004
729,232
1,920
0.26%


1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005
1,562,364
75,309
4.82%


1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
1,628,330
23,895
1.47%


1 April 2006 to 30 November 2006
941,194
1,920
0.20%



  Note: Information supplied by NHS 24.

Nursing

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in ensuring that nursing staff in permanent and bank nurse employment do not work excess hours.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards have responsibility for ensuring permanent and bank staff are deployed in such a way as to comply with local Family Friendly Policies, Working Time regulations and other issues that govern employment matters. The Executive also published a report on Nationally Co-ordinated Nurse Bank Arrangements and this sets out clearly the action required by NHS boards to support the valuable contribution that nurse bank staff make.

Nursing

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31515 by Mr Andy Kerr on 6 February 2007, what the timetable is for full implementation of the recommendations contained in the Audit Scotland report, Planning ward nursing - legacy or design? .

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive will work with NHS boards, trade unions and Professional Bodies to implement Audit Scotland’s recommendations and expect full implementation by 2010.

Olympic Games

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications are for sports projects, such as a 50-metre swimming pool for Aberdeen, if sports lottery funding is diverted to pay for cost increases of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Patricia Ferguson: No decision has yet been taken by the UK Government on how to fund the additional costs of the London 2012 Olympic Games. At present there are no implications for any projects, including the 50-metre swimming pool being considered by Aberdeen.

  The 2012 Olympics present a once in a lifetime opportunity for everyone in the UK and the Scottish Executive will continue to work closely with the UK Government to maximise the potential benefits for Scotland.

Schools

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to give parent councils the same rights to consultation on proposals for school closures that school boards currently have by substituting "Parent Council" for "School Board" in the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 1981 as amended.

Hugh Henry: Yes. Action is in hand to implement this at the appropriate time.

Social Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its social enterprise strategy.

Rhona Brankin: It is our intention to publish a social enterprise strategy in the near future.

Teachers

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage the recruitment of secondary school teachers in Caithness.

Hugh Henry: The recruitment of teachers is a responsibility of each local authority.

Waste Management

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether applications for financial support from Phase 2 of the Strategic Waste Fund will be expected to be fully compatible with the guiding principles of the National Waste Plan.

Ross Finnie: Yes. The guiding principles of the National Waste Plan are to reduce waste so far as possible; to recycle and compost as much waste as is practicable and to use other treatment facilities, such as energy from waste, only where it is not reasonably practicable to recycle or compost waste.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what complaint procedures are in place for members of the public who are not satisfied with the work of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

John Scott: Under the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002, the ombudsman in the exercise of her functions is not subject to the direction or control of any member of the Parliament, any member of the Scottish Executive or the SPCB.

  The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has a complaints procedure in place for anyone who disagrees with a decision reached or for anyone who is dissatisfied with the service provided by the office. Details are available on the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s website using the following link http://www.spso.org.uk/complain/article.php?ssi=36.

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it considers that it is satisfactory that some cases take more than two years to be reviewed by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

John Scott: As part of the recent budgetary round, the SPCB was made aware that since 2004-05 there had been an increase in complaints and enquiries received by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The latest Annual Report highlights the increase in the number of complaints between 2004-05 and 2005-06 at 24% and a 99% increase in enquiries received.

  To address the impact of this, the SPCB approved a 7.6% budget increase (over the 2006-07 approved budget allocation) for 2007-08. This will provide funding for seven additional members of staff taking the staffing complement up to 45 which should assist the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman with her workload.